sewer gas/rotten food/dead mouse odor

[tad2007]

Hello Pros,
I have been getting this bad odor in my basement since November 2006. When it started, the odor was like a dead mouse. Then it changed to a rooten food. Then to a sewer gas. The odor comes and goes. It may smell one day and not smell for the next 2 or 3 days. Or it may smell just for half hour. It may be in the morning or in the evening. Very hard to predict. I checked the floor drain and there was/is enough water in the trap; it doesn't smell either. I later found out that the bad odor was actually coming from the sump pump, but the sump pump was dry. In any case, I put 2 cups of bleach. That didn't solve the problem. Then I thought the smell was coming from a pipe that was connected to the sump pump. And so I put 2 cups of bleach in that pipe. It's better but hasn't gone away. Do you think that pipe is connected to the sewer system/line and so the smell is coming from there? Do you think there is a broken pipe? There is no back up any where in the house.This house was built in 2002 and we moved in 2003 and never had this problem until Nov. 2006.
I need your help, please.

Thank you,

Tad

[master plumber mark]

why dont you try covering the floor drain
with a towell or plastic bag to see if the trap is
being siphoned out??


just seal it off and see if it stops.

[tad2007]

why dont you try covering the floor drain
with a towell or plastic bag to see if the trap is
being siphoned out??


just seal it off and see if it stops.

I sealed the sump pump before I applied 2 cups of bleach in the sump pump. The smell did not go away. So I removed the seal and put the bleach. The floor drain is ok. There is no smell. What would be the purpose of covering the floor drain since the odor is not coming from there?

Hope to hear from you.

Thank you,

Tad

[GrumpyPlumber]

Hello Pros,
I have been getting this bad odor in my basement since November 2006. When it started, the odor was like a dead mouse. Then it changed to a rooten food. Then to a sewer gas. The odor comes and goes. It may smell one day and not smell for the next 2 or 3 days. Or it may smell just for half hour. It may be in the morning or in the evening. Very hard to predict. I checked the floor drain and there was/is enough water in the trap; it doesn't smell either. I later found out that the bad odor was actually coming from the sump pump, but the sump pump was dry. In any case, I put 2 cups of bleach. That didn't solve the problem. Then I thought the smell was coming from a pipe that was connected to the sump pump. And so I put 2 cups of bleach in that pipe. It's better but hasn't gone away. Do you think that pipe is connected to the sewer system/line and so the smell is coming from there? Do you think there is a broken pipe? There is no back up any where in the house.This house was built in 2002 and we moved in 2003 and never had this problem until Nov. 2006.
I need your help, please.

Thank you,

Tad

I had a customer with an identical problem last year.
There was a sump in the corner with a very high water table and a rotten smell coming from the pit, I noticed a 2" cast iron drain running down to the floor nearby which turned out to be a kitchen sink drain.
I put 2 n 2 together, Kit. drains tend to smell from the organic waste/grease that goes through them. (grease traps are no rosebed)
Made due with what I had..did a lil' experiment and mixed small amounts of white caulking into the sink basin full of water to color it.
Pulled the plug and sure enough within 2 minutes the water in the sump started getting white.
Drilled up the concrete to discover the 2" drain had literally melted from years of using draino or sulfuric acid. (the bottom had a blossom shaped opening along it's length)
The drain leading to the 4" underground main was completely blocked with silt from years of sink water mixing with dirt and flushing into it.
I'm going to guess you have a similar problem, could be wrong, but without seeing it thats my guess

[tad2007]

I had a customer with an identical problem last year.
There was a sump in the corner with a very high water table and a rotten smell coming from the pit, I noticed a 2" cast iron drain running down to the floor nearby which turned out to be a kitchen sink drain.
I put 2 n 2 together, Kit. drains tend to smell from the organic waste/grease that goes through them. (grease traps are no rosebed)
Made due with what I had..did a lil' experiment and mixed small amounts of white caulking into the sink basin full of water to color it.
Pulled the plug and sure enough within 2 minutes the water in the sump started getting white.
Drilled up the concrete to discover the 2" drain had literally melted from years of using draino or sulfuric acid. (the bottom had a blossom shaped opening along it's length)
The drain leading to the 4" underground main was completely blocked with silt from years of sink water mixing with dirt and flushing into it.
I'm going to guess you have a similar problem, could be wrong, but without seeing it thats my guess

Hello All,
I found out last night that the sewer gas odor actually comes through the a/c vents now. Does that mean the condensate drain is clogged? I don't see any water dripping into the floor drain from the 2" drain. The house smells really bad. What should I do?

Tad

[GrumpyPlumber]

Hello All,
I found out last night that the sewer gas odor actually comes through the a/c vents now. Does that mean the condensate drain is clogged? I don't see any water dripping into the floor drain from the 2" drain. The house smells really bad. What should I do?

Tad

Well, it's a DIY forum, but I gotta say, you could spend days here trying to describe the physical dimensions/attributes.
Could be a trapped rodent in the ac venting...bad venting...dry condensate trap, broken house sewer, bad joint, the list goes on.
It'll cost, but it would be faster to have a plumber come and evaluate in person.

[frenchie]

That, or more likely you've got mold or bacteria growing on the coils. See it all the time on window AC's.

Take 'em out & hose em down, spray with bleach, hose again... fine.

Not too sure how you'd fix that with a central AC, if it was me I'd call a duct cleaning outfit or an AC tech.

[GrumpyPlumber]

That, or more likely you've got mold or bacteria growing on the coils. See it all the time on window AC's.

Take 'em out & hose em down, spray with bleach, hose again... fine.

Not too sure how you'd fix that with a central AC, if it was me I'd call a duct cleaning outfit or an AC tech.


Thought of that, but wouldn't it be more likely to smell like mildew?
rotten eggs, maybe...but this guy smells either sewage or a dead thing.
Can't hurt to try....

[tad2007]

Thought of that, but wouldn't it be more likely to smell like mildew?
rotten eggs, maybe...but this guy smells either sewage or a dead thing.
Can't hurt to try....

Hello All,
If it were a trapped rodent in the a/c venting, would it smell for such a long time? Four or five days is ok, but longer than that, I doubt. If it were a broken sewer, the odor should be there all the time. Why would it come and go? Since no water is dripping in to the floor drain when the a/c is on, one possibility is that the condensate drain is clogged. I am assuming that if the a/c is running, water should drip into the 2" drain. Is it wise to call a plumber or an a/c tech?

I appreciate your help.

Tad

[Verdeboy]

You need to clean out your A/C condensate drain hose. You can use a little snake or just blow out the line with compressed air. Watch out for the deluge of dirty water when you finally unclog the line.

They also make pellets that you can put in the drain pan to help prevent clogs.